| Greetings!
I am certain that many of you have seen, heard about or even watched the show on Oprah's new approach to managing her 'eating' issues and the weight gain that she has experienced over the last couple of years. I, of course, could not let the opportunity to comment on what she is now doing pass. While I think that there is great value in what she is doing, there is still the danger of the public perceiving her way as the best way.
Read below to review the brief email I submitted through Oprah's website and additional commentary on how you might create your very own success with the same type of approach....but your very own! |
| Is Oprah Doing It Right? |
Background (briefly summarized): Oprah has struggled her entire life with food, an eating addiction she labeled it. She uses food to deal with stress, emotional turmoil, and to fill voids in her life. Off and on she has tackled her eating issues and both lost and gained weight largely in the public eye. When she turned 50, Oprah lost a significant amount of weight in a very healthy, responsible way and essentially declared herself cured....until the weight slowly crept back over the last few years.
Now, for 2009, she has announced that not only was she disappointed and embarrassed about the weight gain once again, but she opened up to the public through her show about the realization that she does not have an 'eating' issue; in fact, she has a 'love' issue. She has not learned to love and value herself enough and so when times become stressful or she is over extended, she falls off of her priority list. With this realization, Oprah seems to have committed to taking the 'weight' challenge on as much more of an issue of overall self care, appreciation for her body and her health.
My Initial Commentary: Awesome! My initial reaction to her new approach to managing health and weight is a very positive one. If you are a regular reader of mine, you know that I feel strongly about approaching your personal wellness goals from the foundation if you truly want to make a difference in your long term health and quality of life. I very often work with my wellness coaching clients on getting in touch with their true motives and what has been holding them back from personal wellness success over years and years of trying again.
SO MANY women, including many of our MissFIT clients, have experienced the same roller coaster that Oprah has lived publically. Her recognition that emotions, very personal behavioral patterns and a lack of appreciation for one's own body is extremely significant. I hope that it normalizes the SAME struggle that so many women face. When we do not love ourselves, we are not able to consistently prioritize our personal needs. While I am certainly not suggesting that we allow our family values or natural tendencies to care for others to go by the wayside, I certainly hope that we can now recognize that perhaps we can re-define 'personal success' and 'productivity' to without guilt serve the only body we will ever inhabit.
The Email I Submitted to Oprah's Website: Hello!
I own a small woman's fitness and wellness company in NE Illinois, MissFIT Complete, Inc. I want to comment on the first show in the Best Life Week on Oprah's weight, or I should say 'love', challenge. I am so excited that someone in the public eye (and who better than Oprah!?) is finally willing to recognize weight and health as so much more than what you put into your mouth and following the directions of a cookie-cutter program. Adopting this new perspective that Oprah is now willing to take on means she will experience not only a greater challenge but also greater joy in her journey. Maybe if more people are willing to do the same we can cure the 'repeat offender syndrome' driving the penance paying population of dieters. Professionally, I constantly go against the grain of the industry by teaching women to care for themselves out of honor for their bodies as opposed to achieving some externally driven goal dependent on surface 'band aid cures'.
As a Wellness Coach (ACSM), one service I provide is an Intuitive Eating Program covering much of what Oprah and Bob referred to on the show. Cheering my living room, I wanted so badly to be a part of that discussion! Although, sometimes I think that women are so out of touch with the reasons that they eat, that they cannot even begin to accurately answer or face the questions posed by Bob. So, often I begin by outlining the characteristics of the Intuitive Eater (someone who has learned to listen to her body, make choices out of respect for their health, and operates with a sense of self-awareness) in comparison to the rule based, guilt-ridden 'Diet Mentality'. In the first week's homework, I encourage participants to simply begin asking themselves if they are hungry before they eat--no other guidelines or 'rules'; just tuning in and getting to know themselves so that as we move forward with the process of re-learning to respond to their bodies they are able to identify what emotions and underlying issues exist that have kept them from success in the past. Identifying those issues is a powerful (and, yes, risky) process but creates the foundation for a whole new level of success.
Thank you for listening to my perspective on Oprah's 'love' challenge! I second this motion, cheer for anyone joining in, and encourage women to seek their very own method that will work in their lifestyles!
Yours in Health,
Katie Oldham, MS, LWC
President MissFIT Complete, Inc.
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| How can you Apply This Approach to Your Life? |
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While Oprah's approach is definitely refreshing, I feel that it is necessary that we do not get too caught up in her way of doing things. Each women must build her very own approach that works for her and only her. It is not until the clients that I work with view their wellness as a deeply personal issue and stop comparing their strategies to those of others that they are truly FREE to move forward. Yes, there are some common threads between many of the women that I work with. For example, many of them have a fear of failure paralyzing their ability to make a lifelong change. Also, most of the women that I work with simply have never prepared properly or addressed what inspires them to make a change in the direction of their goals.
So, I wanted to conclude this commentary by providing you with a few points to ponder on how to craft a new, personal approach to making 2009 YOUR year:
- Oprah talked a lot about needing 'balance' in her life. While this might be a very valuable concept for many, she failed to mention that a true balance does not exist for many people. Most of us, after all, MUST spend more time on priorities than on doing things to nurture our personal self-interests. So, begin to define and think about 'balance' in your life as a concept that shifts, something that you can constantly alter to suit your current stage in life. I often talk about striking the perfect 'im-balance'. How can you fit in some of the things that you would like to realistically? And when you cannot, how can you change how you approach the other things in a more positive way leading to self-satisfaction?
- Just because Oprah defines her issues as an issue of not loving herself abundantly enough, that may not be your issue. Yours may be having unrealistically high expectations, simply clinging to old habits and behaviors, a lack of knowledge, or a cycle of guilt from constantly failing at diets. So, be sure to take the time to truly consider what issues you need to work through to create the most solid foundation for meeting your personal wellness goals.
- While I do believe that what Oprah is doing offers something very valuable to so many women who struggle with self-care and weight, I fear that many will log in to her site to find answers rather than looking within. So, instead of doing the exercises that Oprah does and eating the way she describes works for her, take personal responsibility for your VERY OWN strategies. After all, what you choose to do will be yours for life!
So, is Oprah doing it right this time? Perhaps for her, YES! And, her way will hopefully open up opportunities for women to think about their approaches more carefully. But, is she doing it the right way for YOU, maybe, maybe not! |
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| A One-on-One Approach |
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One thing that I have learned after all of the presentations and group coaching programs that I have done with women is that nothing replaces the personal approach. There is nothing that compares to the feedback that I get from the women who have been working one-on-one with a MissFIT Personal Trainer after going through some struggles as well as some successes. The value of having a coach, an experienced and educated Trainer, and a tireless motivator has no match for the cookie-cutter programs available on the book shelf. And when I work with Wellness Coaching clients, the depth of guidance and personalized programming that goes on in the sessions leads to a whole new level of personal success and self-satisfaction. Basically, if you give yourself the opportunity to truly engage in a customized program, I know that you will reap the rewards!
So, if you would like to embark on your very own program for 2009; your own version of Oprah's love challenge, let us know! We want to be a part of your success and we offer something that no other company around can---committment to each client as an individual and unique services that can be customized to YOUR LIFE. We would love the opportunity to do a FREE consultation to discuss how we can help you reach your goals!
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